The Beast and Pariah
by Aelsthla-Mental
Summary: The city is no longer under quarantine, and it appeared that all was well, but it was not to be. Kessler's vision is already happening, "The Beast" has appeared and has brought destruction in it's wake, searching for "Pariah". Can it be stopped?
1. Prologue

**I'm sure soon plenty will be writing crossovers between these two particular games. And I felt like making one, so yeah.**

**This is shorter then I expect the other chapters will be, as it is the prologue. Hope you enjoy it anyway!**

**

* * *

**

**The Beast and Pariah**

_Prologue_

Here it was, Empire City, in all of its glory.

The hooded man smirked as he gazed upon the buildings towering above him, a rather pungent odour came from it, and the city was still dirty with debris, bullets, and car parts. From what he had heard, there had recently been a plague that had hit this place, and only recently had the quarantine been lifted. Yet still it brimmed with life, he could sense it. Not too many people were out and about quite yet though, too early. The sun had risen, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. But the day was still cold, and most people would probably be waiting until they grudgingly had to go to work.

He gave a sniff of distaste. If the quarantine had been lifted, perhaps that meant who he was looking for had left, he wasn't too sure. He had heard of a 'saviour' in the city, a super powered individual who had rescued the city from the perils during the quarantine. That person may well be who he was looking for.

But first, he needed a disguise.

Casually, he lifted out a wallet, brimming with money and oddly enough, a cell phone, he had obtained from others along the way here, he made sure it was openly visible, and then turned into a dark alley.

Sure enough, he was followed. To his amusement, he heard a gun cocked from behind.

'Give me ya money, punk!' The gruff voice commanded.

Smiling, the figure turned around, arms raised, and dropped his wallet to the floor.

The bald, frenzied-looking mugger before him glared suspiciously at the 'victims' face. 'What's so funny?'

'I remembered a good joke' was his smooth reply.

'Kick it to me.' The mugger ordered, waving his guns in a rather pathetic attempt to appear threatening while trying to avoid the smiling face of the man he had ambushed. There was something strange about the face… heck, the entire man.

Casually, he tapped the wallet with his shoe, the tap however was enough to send the wallet sliding the dozen or so meters next to the mugger, who bent down and picked it up…

And he was in front of him, traversing in seconds the fair distance between them. With a sharp *crack*, the mugger fell to the ground, his neck broken, his body was jerked into the air as tendrils came out of the man, grasping the mugger's body and absorbing it into his own.

But it didn't end there. Tendrils covered, the man, changing colour and texture, and then there was the mugger in the spot. Smirking, he examined his hands and clothes. 'It will do.' The voice was the muggers, but it was no longer panicked.

Bending down, he picked up the wallet; taking out the phone he dialled a number.

'I got us a place to crash while we look for him.' He said casually into the phone. 'Number eighty six in Twelve Lincoln Road, an apartment. I'll see you soon, there's a computer for you to work your magic on.'

He left no time for answers and simply turned off the phone. He walked out of the alley into the throngs of people who were beginning to come out, probably work was starting.

'_I know you're out there somewhere Pariah.'_ He gave a smirk. _'I'll find you… brother.'_

_

* * *

_

**So yeah, comment and criticize if you wish. Happy to improve.**


	2. Not so Normal

Yawning, Cole opened his eyes to stare at the pasty white ceiling. Immediately he started tossing the pros and cons of getting up. He felt tired, and more rest would be nice. But then again the city was still a bit shaky after the quarantine, and he had been asked to attend a conference to help motivate people in about three quarters of an hour.

Giving a bit of a groan, Cole flexed his aching muscles before planting his feet on the floor and standing up.

The room was empty, it had a mirror which double acted as a sliding door for the cupboard, but that was about it. He gave himself a look. He appeared to be a bit grubby, he hadn't had a shower in about a week, but he had at least managed to shave. His hair didn't grow much anymore, but he had given it a trim yesterday anyway. He was wearing plain blue pyjamas that were a bit too big, but otherwise comfortable. His clothes were currently drying, so they would be fine.

All-in-all, he figured all he needed was a shower to be presentable. He gave a sigh, there was a reason he avoided taking showers when he could.

He exited the room, and ended up coming face to face with a woman in her mid-thirties. She gave a smile. 'Aahh, I was going to wake you, Breakfast is ready.'

'You're too kind…' His stomach growled, and he gave a sigh. 'But I think I need to take a shower first.'

'To your left' She gave a cheerful wink. 'I already have a towel there for you; it's the dark blue one.'

Cole sighed. He had just wanted to go home when it was all over, but the problem was that 'home' was Zeke's place. And Cole hadn't quite gotten over his betrayal as of yet. So he had decided to live on the street for a while, but then people had insisted he come to their home to stay instead. Part of him disliked intruding in their lives, another part was happy that the people were kind enough to do it.

Turning, Cole entered. There was a Shower cubicle with soap, hair washing implements, and other assorted body care products that barely registered.

Carefully, Cole twisted the cold water tap. Water began dripping down, very little pressure, or much coming out, satisfied and closing his eyes, Cole tested putting his hand in. Wincing not only from the coldness of the water, but pain as electricity danced around his arm, turning the water into steam and slightly reddening his skin.

Well, he had to get it over with. Sighing, Cole stripped down and plunged into the torture…

* * *

He came out, his skin red but healing, and his normal yellow and black attire on.

The woman looked at him quizzically.

'Don't ask.' Cole grunted, taking a seat on the wooden table, taking a bite out of a sausage on the plate in front of him.

'It would be cold now; if you want I'll heat it up in the microwave.'

'Don't have the time.' Cole replied, trying and failing to lighten his voice. People were always telling him he always sounded so serious. 'Got a conference to go to, keep the peoples morale up, we did just survive a massive crisis. And we're still repairing the damage. I'm supposed to get up there, say a few words.' He grimaced. 'Doesn't seem right, sure I saved the town, but I had help, you know? Not to mention these abilities.' Lightning danced along his fingertips, as if to emphasize the point. 'I think a normal person should go up there, you know? Show them how normal people survived, managed to make things for the better.'

'You are normal Cole.' She seemed to look away as she said that, perhaps embarrassed. 'Just because you have abilities no others have doesn't mean you are not normal, some people can do things that others could never do. But everyone is different, which in a sense is normal.'

There was a silence for a few seconds. It was ended rather unceremoniously by Cole giving a sigh. 'I'm not sure it's safe for me to believe that just yet.' With that, he left the house, climbing up the power pole and slid on the lines on the way to the docks where the conference was about to begin.

* * *

'So, what information do you have about the saviour of this town, Wade?'

A bearded man (Wade) gave a smirk. Here he was, once a low-level Blackwatch because he had asked too many questions, and now he was next to their bane, Alex Mercer. Or what remained of him, he quietly reminded himself.

He made no snide comments; he knew Alex Mercer didn't take kindly, although he was trying to be more "civil". Learning the truth about what he was seemed to confuse him. Wade wasn't a psychologist, but he supposed Mercer was having an identity crisis, and if he should simply be what the template had been, or someone else entirely. Alex could always consume him and take the knowledge for his own, but he kept him alive. His reason was that he was "Sick of doing everything himself", but Wade had always suspected there was more to it. Perhaps he was trying to be a better person. Or perhaps he realized that keeping some people alive to help him may be a benefit.

'Well, it wasn't too difficult to find out most of the information. Although I do have a feeling some pieces of the puzzle are missing.' Wade stroked his beard thoughtfully. 'His name is Cole McGrath, he was a bicycle messenger.'

'Not a job that pays very much.' Alex murmured.

'No, but he lived at his friend's place, his name is Zeke Dunbar, the job payed enough for Cole to do his share of the bills.' Wade scrolled down. 'It seems he was taking a package somewhere when it exploded, tearing a sizable chunk of the area. Cole was at the centre of the blast, yet he survived, and seemed to develop abilities after. Then, as if everyone was waiting, it seems several factions began acting, and the city was put under quarantine due to some black gunk that managed to get into the water supply. Cole used his abilities to basically stop the factions getting…'

He paused, taking a breath before continuing. 'This was a bit tricky to find, but the factions were all after something called the "Ray Sphere". What it does is supposedly drain the Neuro-Electricity and allow the user to absorb it and develop their abilities. That was supposedly the thing that caused the explosion.'

'Where is it now?'

'Destroyed, Cole was supposedly very clear on that, he said it in one of the few times he allowed himself to be put in front of a crowd.' Wade gave a smile and looked at Alex Mercer, his dark brown eyes searching Mercer's face for a clue on what he was thinking. A difficult task, Mercer's hood and the poor light that only came from the computer screen obscured most of his features. 'What, were you hoping to use it yourself?'

Mercer was silent for a few moments, before growling 'So then, is he Pariah or not?'

'Possible, but unlikely.' He turned back to the computer and stroked his beard yet again, he liked doing that. 'There is no information in his past until after the time Pariah escaped, no recorded family. So that does increase the likelihood. However the problem is that he showed no abilities until after the Ray Sphere detonated, Pariah most definitely had abilities to begin with. I suppose he could have forgotten how to use them or something, but he had abilities, even if he was… Not like you.' He turned to Alex, to see his expression.

'How did he kill those people?' Alex asked, recalling a memory he had absorbed. His voice suggested curiosity, pure and simple.

'I believe I know who you are talking about, but alas that was strictly classified, after all, I shouldn't have even known about Pariah, let alone his actions.' A smirk crept on his lips. 'Or that he escaped,' he added dryly. Carefully, he avoided Mercer's gaze, and asked 'what do you intend to do to Pariah when you find him, anyway?'

'None of your business.' The reply was rough, and had an edge that meant if Wade wanted to live, he would drop the subject.

Luckily he didn't have to. Alex Mercer asked gruffly 'so then, you don't know if Cole is or isn't Pariah?'

'No, I don't.' Wade sighed. 'You would have to capture him.' Looking back at the computer screen, he began typing. 'You're in luck, it seems he is due for a conference in about ten minutes, wait until after and bring him back alive.'

Alex's face was expressionless. 'Very well, I'll bring him back.' Tendrils covered his body, and once again the mugger appeared. It didn't make much of a difference, the mugger had been wearing grey and black, his green eyes were hardened with purpose. He exited the room. Mercer had always been a man of few words.

Wade watched as he exited the room, and then returned to the computer screen. As he continued typing and finding out more on what happened, he couldn't help but notice a key word that Mercer had left out at the end of his sentence.

* * *

The two lines mean the story is over, and it's just the boring author talking.

**_I was going to write this chapter later. But i must admit my surprise at the amount of favorites, alerts, and a review. So yeah... I figured i'd write this chapter sooner then expected._**

**_So yeah, got any questions PM or ask in review, any problems with the story (spelling, grammar, story etc.), please review with the problems so I can edit them. I do like to fix things up. Want to review with just praise and a nice comment on what you liked, that's fine to. So yeah, hope you enjoy!_**

**_Oh, and I forgot the Disclaimer._**

**_I sure as heck don't own [Prototype] or inFAMOUS. There you go!_**


	3. Pariah's Secret

'And so, while we have all done admirably, if we can keep our effort on for just a little longer, Empire City may well become better then it ever was.' Cole finished, hoping that the expansive crowd before him didn't notice his constant glancing to the palm cards he had placed on the makeshift stand.

Either way, the crowd applauded and cheered all the same.

Cole forced a grin. He still felt uncomfortable in front of a crowd; he gave a half-hearted wave as he exited the stand. As soon as he turned a corner out of the crowd's sight, he began running full pelt.

As such, he was rather surprised when he looked back and noticed someone had managed to keep up rather well, although still a fair distance of a couple of dozen meters. The street was empty, most had been at the conference and would still be heading to their cars.

The man smiled and waved. Even from a distance the smile was clearly fake, just like Cole's own had been.

'Is there a problem, citizen?' He disliked using the word, but he felt like leaving in a hurry, and perhaps if he 'showed him his place', the guy would leave without wanting an autograph or something.

'I just wanted to have a few words with you.'

Cole frowned. The man sounded calm, very different from most of the people he had been around, who were relieved and mainly more optimistic. Shrugging, he decided for kicks to let out an electric echo.

A good thing too, it came back to show the man indeed wasn't normal, perhaps not even human.

Electricity began dancing around Cole's arms. 'Who are you?' He growled, pointing his right arm at the man.

Before Cole's very eyes, the man changed as tendrils covered the body, dissipating inside the skin to reveal a different person. The outfit was roughly the same colour of black and grey, but thicker and now had a hood.

'My name is Alex Mercer, and I'm wondering if you might be Pariah.' Well, the 'thing' was certainly blunt.

'No idea what you're talking about.'

Alex Mercer sighed. 'Very well then, come with me peacefully or I shall have to use force.' He got into a primal stance

Cole grimaced. If the man was talking like that, he probably was an extremely powerful conduit. Since everyone knew him, he doubted he was unanticipated.

Once again tendrils covered Alex, this time when it ended only one arm was affected, turning black and demonic-looking with sharp claws.

Alex made a grabbing motion, as if Cole was right next to him.

Cole quickly found out why, the arm _extended _towards him rapidly. Cole narrowly managed to roll out of the way.

The arm retracted just as quickly, but Cole managed to shoot out a burst of electricity.

Quicker still was the shield that formed in front of Mercer. Despite the block, the shield seemed to still have a degree of conductivity, as Mercer still felt a jolt of pain.

But it was easy enough to ignore, the pain of thousands he had consumed still wracked his body, even as a memory. And yet the pain triggered something, a reflex, or perhaps it stimulated a survival instinct. The shield vanished to be replaced by Mercer being covered head to toe in some sort of insect-like armour, and his right arm into a blade.

The next jolt of electricity didn't even penetrate the surface. Mercer charged forward.

A small part of Mercer's mind was telling him that the blade wasn't the way to go if he wanted the person alive. Unfortunately Mercer had always been democratic, and the majority of him demanded he stop this man one way or another. If the guy was Pariah, it didn't matter too much either way he supposed. If he wasn't, then the man in front of him didn't matter at all…

Cole brought his arm forward in what appeared to be a futile defence. But a blue glow surrounded Cole's arm in the nick of time and a blade made of what seemed to be solid electricity met the blow, not yielding.

Electricity covered the apparently conductive blade, but stopped short of getting into the armour. Still, it was all a part of Mercer, and he felt the pain.

Quickly bringing the blade back, he struck again, the electric blade flickered off before coming back on to intercept the blow. Once again electricity flowed.

Giving a grunt, Mercer jumped.

Cole looked up to see the armour vanish to be replaced with that seemed to be skin and clothes, and then the man flew. Hurriedly, Cole fired a few more bursts of electricity. Three out of five hit, but to little effect as Mercer kept moving.

It looked as if he was going to crash into a tall apartment block, but instead he hit the block and started running in a vertical direction, bricks falling from the impact. Within seconds he had reached the top, out of Cole's sight.

What was he planning to do there? Cole hadn't seen any attacks from the creature that could cover distance.

It was then he noticed a chunk of building falling from the sky, Cole fired a shockwave and the chunk fell to the earth and laid there right at Cole's feet. Close one.

But that was just a distraction; Mercer was already on his way down, like a bullet. He smashed the earth several meters away from Cole, but the shockwave was enough to knock him back like a rag doll.

Cole got up quickly, a fist headed towards him ignoring Mercer's body being far behind. He brought his arm forward and a barrier appeared, the fist struck and Cole gave a small sigh of relief as the kinetic energy from the punch was transferred into his system as healing electricity.

Another charge towards Cole, but this time Mercer had no blade. He had learned his lesson on conductivity it seemed.

Knowing a normal blast would be useless, he fired an electricity orb that hit Mercer like a rocket, knocking him off his feet.

Cole grimaced, but he fired several more even while his opposition was on the ground. Each struck with an impact that cracked the pavement; he drained almost every watt as he fired still more.

And yet, after that Mercer still got up; shaken, but very much alive.

'damn it_.'_ Cole murmured. He had pretty much bled himself dry with that attack.

'You're one real pain in the ass.' Mercer grunted, although how he spoke with that seemingly airtight armour was anyone's guess. But even as he spoke, the arm extended and struck.

Once again, the barrier came up. But Mercer followed his arm, dashing closer then jumping up, blade ready to cleave.

A normal human wouldn't have had the reflexes, even Cole usually didn't. But time seemed to slow down, everything became clear. Cole pointed his arm at Mercer's head.

And fired.

The precision electric blast using the little energy he had absorbed from the previous punch drilled right into Mercer's armour, right into the softer interior.

Mercer dropped, blade and armour deactivated, and screamed as his insides sizzled like sausages in a barbeque.

Quickly Cole ran to a nearby streetlight draining electricity with one hand while aiming with the other.

But Mercer was already moving, but he was moving away. That thing was running. Already he had turned a corner and vanished from sight.

Cole made a mental note to scan anyone that came near him. Meanwhile, his thoughts drifted to what that thing was. Catching up to it was impossible, he could probably trace its echo, but odds were it would leave. And besides, people who had watched in awe were starting to close in, probably wanting to ask questions.

He should probably get away fast, find a place to stay, and make sure that creature didn't appear again.

* * *

'No, he doesn't expect anything yet. You were right; no-one he has consumed would lead him to suspect me.'

Wade breathed a sigh of relief as he spoke into the telephone. 'But you never know if he will find out! If he knows I'm still working for Blackwatch, I'm dead.'

He paused, from his expression of distaste you could tell he disliked the answer he was getting. 'Yes, I am almost certain he is Pariah now. Although how the hell he ended up here I have no idea. This whole thing stinks to be honest. What if a high-up in Blackwatch wanted this to happen? That's the problem with a need-to-know basis. When they die, the secret gets lost when we need to know!'

Another pause, then Wade whispered 'Look, he could be back at any moment. I'll tell him what I need to, and I expect the transportation to be ready to leave as soon as they finish.' He shook as if there had been a winter breeze. 'Let's just get this over with, ok?'

He put the phone back in its holder. A minute or so later Alex Mercer arrived. _'Very punctual_', Wade thought wirily, although he tried his best to appear polite. 'Welcome back, although I see you lack company.' He eyed the slowly healing burns all over Mercer's body. 'It didn't go well?'

'My abilities aren't exactly made for capturing.' Mercer grunted.

Well, how was it then? I assume you engaged in combat.'

'He wasn't as powerful as I suspected.'

Wade's eyes widened. 'Really? And yet those wounds…'

'Like I said, capturing isn't easy for me.' The wounds had sealed completely. 'I think a devastator would have wiped him out, he doesn't seem to be anything like me.'

'Why should he? You were a forced survivor with all the nasty abilities that entailed considering what you were up against. He is the next stage, a new dawn of humanity' Wade chuckled. 'Or so Blackwatch hoped. Speaking of that, I've managed to hack further into Blackwatch files.'

'Have you now.' Mercer eyed the computer screen. 'What's new?'

'There was more to the Pariah project. It seems while he was indeed the next evolution, it wasn't quite what they expected. You know the theory of evolution? This is sort of like a far more rapid version. Pariah's cells were very adaptive depending on the environment it seems. The major thing his cells ended up reacting to were the electricity in numerous devices around the place in which he was kept under guard. But that wasn't all. The degrees of his abilities were based on how they were required. So they worked on his mind. Implanting memories, trying to make him feel like he was under constant attack. All to keep his abilities at their peak. They wanted him to be all-powerful.'

He sighed, taking a sip of water before continuing.. 'But somehow he escaped. They're not quite sure how it happened. One of the guards was suspicious of the kid, always had him at gunpoint. He was found later, the gun seemed to have exploded. It's quite possible that due to the sudden loss of the numerous drugs they were pumping in his system caused the memory loss, while his unique genetics protected himself from any other side-effects.'

'So, is he harmless? Will he infect others, or begin to develop abilities?' Alex asked, pacing to both sides of Wade, occasionally peering at the computer screen.

'He will most likely develop, considering he knows he has abilities now and has the need to improve them. Hardly harmless if he survived you.' Wade gave a quick chuckle. 'As for infecting others, it appears not. In that aspect he seems to be similar to you… Well, not who you are pretending to be though. He certainly infected people…'

'So, you think he is Pariah?' Wade winced at Mercer's cold tone, dangerously close; he nearly had his last laugh.

'I am certain. I found the DNA of Pariah in here and ran it with Cole's that I found in a hospital database. It has changed, but I noticed key elements that are similar to Pariah.'

Mercer sat on the floor. 'So, what does that leave me to do?' He murmured, staring at his hands. 'Pariah isn't a threat, hell it's a hero. I suppose there is still Blackwatch.'

He got up. 'I have to warn him.' He said abruptly.

I doubt he will trust you after what happened.'

'I can't let him be caught off guard and captured. Blackwatch could still use him. And if you found him, who knows? Perhaps they will put the pieces together as well.'

'Perhaps' Wade conceded. 'You best go warn him. Doubt you'll be getting him to come with you to a safer area.'

But Mercer was already gone, much to Wade's relief. He grabbed a suitcase he had hidden behind the computer monitor and rushed away briskly, exiting the room.

Meanwhile, he took his mobile phone out and dialled a number. 'Mercer is going to warn Pariah. Sadly we have little use for him anymore, you were right; these uncontrolled conditions too early have stunted his abilities. Send in the Super Soldiers, We will have to start afresh…'

* * *

**_So yeah, another chapter. Hope you like it!_**

**_Might get some complaints though... I might add more to the fight scene later as well, or perhaps save that for the next one._**

**_Anyway, have a nice day!_**


	4. Redo the Past Mistakes

'Well… It's good to see you again, Cole.'

There was an awkward silence. Orange tinted glasses met those hardened eyes that had faced much adversity.

On the rooftop of an apartment building, where what felt like years ago Zeke and Cole had laughed, had a few beers, and all in all enjoyed life.

Now you could cut through the silence with a knife, while you would need a katana to cut through the feeling of awkwardness emanating from both of them.

Zeke coughed. 'Cole, I'm sorry for what I did.'

'You endangered a lot of people Zeke, and betrayed me when I thought I could trust you.'

Zeke winced, the shudder he did with it more visible then his covered eyes. He said nothing, he couldn't think of what to say, it was true.

Cole sighed, 'but I shouldn't have put that burden on you. You always went on about how you would want abilities like me. I knew, yet I still gave the sphere to you.'

Zeke straightened up; a small smile crept on his face. 'I guess you did blow it, hey Cole?'

'Don't push it.' Cole muttered.

'…But it all turned out alright in the end.' Zeke finished hastily.

Cole paused, looking above to the cloudless sky. 'I wouldn't be so sure.' He muttered.

Zeke eyed him nervously. 'Cole, is there something you haven't told me?'

'There is something else coming Zeke, something worse then anything I've fought.'

Zeke was silent, simply staring at Cole. Then eventually he said briskly 'Well, I'll grab us both a beer.'

That caught Cole's attention, he immediately stared back at Zeke and raised an eyebrow. 'I don't think being drunk is going to help me fight the Beast.'

'Oh, just a small amount Cole, for old times.'

That got a smirk from Cole. 'If you say so.'

Smiling as if it had never left his face, Zeke opened the door to the stairway and left.

Cole was still for a moment, before taking advantage of his friend's absence and jumping on the couch.

The train was coming early, he noted. He could hear it. Kinda funny really, he had always remembered it being late. Or had that much time flown already?

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard glass and bricks smashing. Getting, up, he looked over the edge of the building, to see that hooded figure from before jump up and land about a meter away.

Cole immediately, let the lightning dance around his arms and aimed for him. 'What are you doing here?' He said coolly.

'Warning you, actually…' He broke off, stiffening. 'They're here already…' He said in disbelief. With that, he leapt over Cole, turning around; he saw Mercer was grappling with some sort of mechanized human in mid-air. They were interrupted when a second mechanized human crashed into Mercer, sending him hurtling away, followed by a resounding crash as they hit the earth.

While those two headed for Mercer, two more came up to meet Cole. Both of them slowly circled closer to Cole like vultures, slowly getting closer.

Cole fired at one of them, the man dodged it with terrifying ease, as if he had predicted it happening. Another burst had his partner giving a brief burst of speed in the circle to avoid it. A third burst had the first soldier twisting his head to the side to avoid, but he was surprised when Cole brought up his other hand and fired almost instantly after, and twisted out of the way only to ram into his partner. Cole immediately fired an electric hammer, and the momentarily stunned men were knocked off their feet, and off the building.

Cole jumped down after them, gathering electricity as he fell.

The soldiers were just getting up when Cole hit the ground, expelling the gathered energy in one blast that hit the soldiers like a solid wall, flinging them into an actual solid wall of an apartment building and smashing right through, and knocking senseless a man who happened to be on the other side.

Cole gave a sigh of relief, but even as he did so the two men simply burst out of the debris, charging forward. They both tackled Cole to the ground, holding one arm each.

Electricity flowed from Cole's arms into the men; they both shook violently as it flowed into them. But one managed to give Cole a hefty kick, breaking the connection and sent Hale skidding across the concrete, leaving a smear of blood with it.

Cole didn't get up, he just forced his head and arms up, firing at his opposition with bursts of lighting and a hammer or two thrown into the mix.

He zapped both of them a few times, but they managed to avoid the hammers as they moved, albeit slower then usual as their muscles jolted from the electric shocks.

This time they didn't try to get closer, instead one moved to block, receiving blast after blast of electricity, while the other tore a section of concrete.

Cole started to get up when it was thrown, but was unable to dodge and found himself once again hurtling further away. The soldier who had taken all the shocks before had collapsed, dead or unconscious.

The concrete fell to the earth, Cole's face contorted with pain as the lower half of his body was being crushed. The soldier jumped up and fell like a meteor into the concrete covering Cole's lower half, a resounding *crunch* was heard and Cole's lower half went numb.

'_That's probably going to hurt when those nerves work again'_ Cole tried to force his head towards his opponent, who was currently tearing another section of concrete from the ground.

Once again he threw it, but Cole was ready this time, sending out a shockwave which propelled it right back. The concrete shattered on impact and apart from taking a step back, he appeared to be unharmed. Another shockwave brought the concrete that had covered Cole's bottom half into the soldier's face. The soldier stumbled back again.

Cole knew he had seconds, and he took full advantage. He propelled himself forward with his arms and grabbed the soldier. Electricity flowed from Cole into the soldier, shorting out the electronics and sending the soldier into a spasm.

But Cole didn't let go until he was certain that the man was dead, the body continued the spasm but he could sense the brain and heart shutting down. He pushed the limp body to the floor before collapsing himself: Conscious, but hurting all over. His legs refused to move, broken perhaps, or he had lost that much blood.

All he could do was wonder on the outcome of the fight between that creature called Mercer and those other two soldiers.

'_They've been upgraded.'_

That thought was solid in his mind, as solid as his opposition's fists.

Both of the super soldiers struck at him, giving him no leeway to strike back. An outsider would see what amounted to a blur of movement.

Mercer's arms shifted from weapon to weapon. Hammerfist, blade, claws. None of them made a difference, even the hammerfist just gave the soldiers an easy target which they took full advantage of. With the musclemass arms, he managed to grab the fist of one of the attacking soldiers and hurl him into the next one, unfortunately the super soldier refused to go alone and gripped Mercer, bringing him along for the ride. Leaving all three of them sprawled in a pile.

Musclemass turned to claws as Mercer awkwardly slashed at the two soldier's under him. The claws raking at steel and flesh gave the soldiers a jumpstart, and sent Mercer hurtling into the air.

Not deterred, Mercer did a bullet drop back down, the soldiers managed to get out of Mercer's way, but not the shockwave that sent them stumbling back to the earth.

Claws back to musclemass as Mercer grabbed one of the soldier and took off, Shaking his head, the second soldier took off in pursuit.

Meanwhile the soldier in Mercer's hand was still trying to get his bearings. Mercer didn't give him the chance, slamming him to the earth, muscles turned into a blade that stabbed the soldier, the armour and flesh stopped the blade from going all the way through, but it didn't stop the blade piercing his heart. Blood poured out as if fleeing from the twisted mix of flesh and metal.

And the second one had already caught up, charging with obvious intentions.

With an almost casual flick, Mercer sent the soldier's deceased comrade hurtling towards him. The soldier simply charged through the projectile, not slowing down.

But he had been temporarily blinded, and in that time, Mercer had shifted slightly. And the soldier charged headfirst into Mercer's blade, bisecting it and the soldier kept his momentum going, not realising for a few moments, before collapsing, dead.

'_Stronger perhaps, but they seem to lack experience.'_

Mercer sighed with relief, the blade turning back into ordinary arms. 'I sure hope it wasn't a waste.'

No sooner had he talked, a sound reached his ears. Shifting his sight, he noticed Cole slowly advancing towards him, his arm electrically charged.

'I'm glad you survived.' Mercer stated.

No answer, but Cole had stopped advancing.

'Why did you come here?' Cole asked gruffly.

'I'm here to protect you…' He hesitated, the word "Pariah" waiting to be said. He held it back. 'There are people after both of us, I was hoping we could work together to put a stop to them.'

Cole watched impassively. At least until he grimaced in pain and found himself on his knees.

'Are you alright?"

'I'll be fine.' Cole got up, albeit unsteadily. 'Those wounds will heal soon enough. So then, how do we deal with these people?"

It was probably for the best if he played along, Cole figured. He was wounded and if the whole thing had been a set-up, there was little reason for him not to be dead. So as strange as it seemed, this guy seemed to be telling the truth.

Hey, he had just called him a guy rather then a creature. Cole was surprised at himself, but relaxed.

Mercer picked up one of the super soldier corpses. Tendrils began to cover it. But Cole noticed that there seemed to be something wrong, the tendrils seemed to go around rather then actually touch the soldier, and when it did they seemed to dissolve each other.

'Damn, they're still like that.' Mercer got up. 'These men are the only ones who would know where Blackwatch has set up base here. And I can't assimilate them.'

'Let me try.' Cole took the corpse of Mercer, placing his palm on the soldier's head.

Memories flashed everywhere. A boy being bullied into insulting his parents, a woman crying as he walked away with soldiers. Being briefed on what to do…

At this point Cole concentrated harder.

'You are to eliminate Pariah, this is his appearance.' An image of himself appeared, the one that had been shown by the Voice of Survival in fact. 'He is dangerous and should be approached with caution. Also Zeus has been sighted in the area, eliminate if possible. But Pariah is the primary target. He must be eliminated before his powers develop further. And he must not interfere with this city becoming the new test field.'

'What do you mean by test field?' The person Cole was seeing through asked.

'Pariah was meant to be the next evolution in humanity, since he has been tainted by uncontrolled circumstances too early in development, we will have to start afresh by recreating the circumstances in Hope, only this time we will be better prepared. The strain of the virus is being brought by a vessel that will dock here at about 2400 hours. Rejoice men, for you shall bring about the future.'

Someone outside his vision said that, but the person in front of him, a general by the look of his uniform, continued.

Before you go please note that Pariah is beyond top secret, and revealing it to anyone will get you shot.'

Cole tore his hand off.

'They're bringing some sort of virus to the city.' He gasped out, followed by groaning at the pain in his head.

Mercer almost paled at the news. 'Damn it.' He murmured. 'Did they say how and when?'

'Midnight, at one of the docks. What kind of virus is it?'

'Probably the same one that made me who I am today.'

Cole shuddered.

'But anyway, we need to know which dock it is and wait.'

Cole frowned. The image of which dock it would be had vaguely been there. Which was it…

'The one… which had a Reaper's base next to. I'll show you the way...'

* * *

'317, are you there?'

Static, nothing but static.

Wade sighed. That could only mean they failed.

It was irritating. He had thought the upgrades would have made even one of them superior to Zeus in terms of strength and armour, so four of them should have been overkill. Clearly the experience factor had been too much for brute strength to overcome.

Yes… it was no fault of his, he had followed Mercer's design well, and he had improved on it. Alex would be proud. But he still had to kill that twisted mockery, that imperfect specimen.

He took a deep breath before getting his second communicator. 'Commander, the super soldier team has failed. Zeus shouldn't be able to assimilate them…'

A pause as Wade's mind ran through the possibility of Mercer being able to find a way around the failsafe he set in place. If there was a chance he knew, the soldiers should be alerted and stationed immediately. But if he didn't know and the soldiers were stationed, it would be a giveaway.

Oh, damn it. The whole thing was falling apart so easily! Mercer had made one mistake and it was tearing Blackwatch to shreds, along with the dreams of a greater humanity.

'Station the troops around the harbour.' He said in a deadpan voice, to hide the frustration and fear from his voice. Those emotions could get you killed if you weren't careful. 'Hopefully they'll slow Zeus down, although I doubt they will kill him. At the very least it will allow us to release the… extra defence protocol which should finish Mercer for good, and give us the chance to introduce the virus to the city. One way or another, we shall finish what we started.'

He put the phone down. He considered telling them about the possibility that Pariah was also alive, but that could get him in more trouble. No, better they learned it the hard way and not shoot him on the spot.

That was a problem with Blackwatch, you had to watch your own back, sometimes using the corpses of others as a shield.

But it would all be worth it in the end.

* * *

**_Author Segway_**

* * *

**_Far too long hey?_**

**_A surprising amount of views and reviews for this story, it's a pity i took so long to update it._**

**_One reviewer pointed something out. If you've played [Prototype] far enough, you'd know that Pariah is suppose to be an unaging kid. Alas i couldn't make up the excuse... Er, i mean state the reason for this in this chapter. That's for the next chapter i'm afraid._**

**_So i hope you enjoyed it, if you see any problems just PM or review if you want them fixed, and just consider what the extra defence protocal might be._**


	5. Do the Right Thing in the Grey

Cole could only gasp, followed by quickly hiding back around the corner, of the terrifying sight.

The dock, and the tower in the Reaper's old area, was crawling with soldiers. They all wore odd black masks and were covered in body armour.

Their ship was there though; At least he thought it was. The ship was fairly nondescript, but it was large and the soldiers seemed to eye it.

But worse then that, at least to Cole, were the corpses.

They littered the area. Cole recognized only a few of them vaguely. But even a glimpse showed just how much their bodies had been torn by bullets; some had only fragments of themselves left.

Mercer didn't even check, the look on Cole's face, coupled with the scent of blood, told him everything.

'I'll take care of these guys.' Mercer said impassively. 'You just look out for the boat, and support me should it come to that.'

Not very likely, but possible Mercer supposed.

With that, Mercer dashed around the corner, and jumped upon the first unsuspecting soldier, quickly tearing him in half.

A hailstorm of bullets followed, a shield came up to block them and Mercer crashed into another soldier, smearing blood across the pavement.

The shield shattered and Mercer was forced back from a missile fired by someone in the throngs of soldiers. Undeterred, Mercer was now covered in armour, and yet his arm still extended and swept into a chunk of soldiers, bisecting them.

There were a couple of snipers in the tower, as well as one guy with as rocket launcher. But they were silently eliminate with a few blasts of lightning from Cole that drilled into their heads and sizzled their brain.

'_Well, at least he cleans up most of his mess after.'_ Cole thought dryly. Mercer's body seemed to absorb the remains of who he killed.

Honestly, it was horrifying for Cole to watch, and yet he had seen what those soldiers had done, he knew what they were planning to do. He had killed before.

But not quite so ruthlessly, Cole noted as Mercer tore a soldier in half before picking up his rocket launcher and decimating still more soldiers.

Hurling the rocket launcher away, he leapt up and struck another soldier with a kick, riding him to another soldier like a skateboard before jumping off and shattering another soldier's skull with his own head. Grabbing that soldier's rifle, he opened fire, ignoring the bullets that embedded into his flesh.

The bullets tore through the soldiers, despite the armour. Funny how the weapons were always one step ahead from the armour.

And then, Mercer stopped. The place was empty. They were all dead.

He shifted back to his default hooded form. 'We'll hide out in the building for the moment, I'll clean up the mess, and you just get inside.'

'_the mess?'_ Cole looked around. Looks like Mercer didn't consume all of them, he left the heads of everyone.

What; was he a picky eater?

* * *

Unbeknownst to Cole and Mercer, a secret compartment in the hull of the boat opened up, a submarine exited silently.

The driver quickly took out his radio. 'Ok, the virus is secure and they are about to enter the boat, it's on autopilot to lead them out to the sea, along with the defence protocol. They should realize too late that the boat doesn't have what they want, and the creature's sedation will have worn off and it should be able to kill them both.'

Wade sighed with relief from those words as he walked the crowded streets, mobile phone in hand. It had all worked out. Soon that abomination would be eradicated and the flawed specimen killed. 'Did you set up the camera and television?'

It had been an optional thing, Wade had wanted to watch, and gloat at the abomination's defeat.

'I managed that, sir. Come to the submarine after we load the Virus at the other dock if you wish to speak with them.'

'Brilliant.' Wade smiled for real this time. 'Then let's get this experiment underway.'

* * *

Something strange was going on.

The ship had started moving almost the instant they had boarded it.

Mercer currently had his infected vision activated. There was a definite source, which was the reason he had shrugged off Cole's idea of leaving the ship as it moved out to sea from the possibility of a trap.

Interestingly, the ship seemed to almost be designed to be a maze. Mercer was tempted to simply smash his way through, but the possibility he would make a hole in the hull was not comforting, so they found their way through.

Finally, they exited the maze and entered a large, open area. The only thing in it was a massive box. Far larger then both Cole and Mercer combined.

It was also the source of the virus Mercer was detecting.

He was about to open it, but the door opened itself. And an inhuman roar came out of it.

The creature that emerged from the crate was all-too familiar to Mercer.

The Supreme Hunter snarled as it tasted the air, its slime-coated skin looked simply unnatural, and even seemed to ripple. The twisted humanoid shape seemed more… solid then Mercer's previous encounter. The claws seemed more sharp and nasty-looking as well.

There was a sudden burst of light. The far end's "wall" was revealed to be a giant television screen and the face of Wade beaming at Mercer within a silver-coloured area.

'Glad to see you there, Abomination.' He laughed. 'You do make it far too easy, you know that?'

'Wade…' Mercer's voice was completely neutral, concealing all emotion.

The Supreme Hunter charged forward, towards Mercer. Mercer charged back, quickly shifting into armour and blade form as he moved and clashing with the Hunter, followed by a few quick blocks as the Hunter lashed out with his clawed hand.

A burst of lightning from Cole stunned the creature, allowing Mercer to impale it.

It didn't exactly have the desired effect, there was a strange hissing noise as both of their bodies around the wound seemed to become tendrils and interact, destroying each other.

The Hunter tore the blade out and hurled Mercer into a wall.

'Aahh yes, I forgot about you Pariah.' He frowned. 'I thought you would have been killed, what a pity. 'Well, delta stroke six echo echo.'

Cole frowned. 'What the hell is…'

Suddenly, he collapsed, writhing in pain.

'What the hell did you do to him!' Mercer growled, getting himself out of the indent in the wall.

'Strange how he has one of the same weaknesses as you. That was the code to bring back his memories if it was ever required.'

Smirking at the writhing form of Cole, he added. 'And oh boy, does he have a lot to remember. Well, now that he is out of the picture. Sic em, boy!'

Roaring, the Hunter lunged forward again, claws outstretched.

Shifting to hammerfist, Mercer swung his arm and struck the Supreme Hunter.

The strike basically cancelled off the Hunter's momentum, the impact however seemed to have little effect, as the Hunter then proceeded to swipe away the hammerfist and claw through Mercer's chest, puncturing the armour.

Once again there was the hissing noise as their tendrils interacted and tore each other apart. The Hunter brough his other hand up, ready to crush Mercer's head with one strike.

Shifting to whipfist, Mercer threw a punch that managed to shift the hand's path, narrowly missing Mercer.

In that moment of distraction, Mercer's other hand shifted to blade and lashed out towards the Hunter's neck.

The Hunter tore his arm out of Mercer's chest, the blade merely gave a nick to his neck rather then the decapitation Mercer was hoping for.

But at least the hand was out of his chest, and it was slowly regenerating, or at least covered over with armour.

Still, it wasn't looking good. Mercer felt…

Weaker perhaps? It was difficult to describe, his energy seemed to be drained and his reflexes were slowing, he was barely parrying the slashes from the Hunter, who still seemed ready to go for days on end.

And then he was too slow, a clawed hand managed to tear through the armour. Only a shallow wound that was already refilling, but it was a bad sign.

'Dammit Cole, wake up!'

* * *

**_This chapter was a bit quicker then usual, hey?_**

**_Good old holidays..._**

**_Anyway, it appears I lied, alas the reason for the problem I said in the previous chapter will have to wait for the next chapter. I'm certain this time though._**


	6. Waking up to a Nightmare

He was alone, all alone.

He had left those bad people, one of them gone for good. He still remembered the look of disdain on the man's face. An all too common look from the people who had been with him. He didn't even have the time to be surprised as the gun blew up in his face when he had touched it.

He had no idea where he was, there were lots of large buildings. People moved around, most not giving him a second glance.

But someone did.

That someone came over to him, dismounting off his bicycle that he had only before been expertly weaving around people, kneeling so they were face to face.

'Hey kid, are you ok?'

The kid looked at the man, unsure of how to react. The worried look seemed sincere. But after all that had happened, it was difficult to trust him…

And yet, what else could he do?

'I'm… not so well.'

'You know where your family is?'

'I-I lost my family some time ago.' It was true, at least.

Suspicion clouded the man's eyes, but it didn't last. Perhaps he looked that pathetic.

'Well, I suppose I can't just leave you here.' He said rather gruffly. Taking his hand, they began to walk away. 'I'm Cole, and what's your name?'

'_Damnit Cole, wake up!'_

As if responding, the world seemed to accelerate into a blur. Now Cole could only make out flashes of images. Being introduced to Zeke, laughing as he worked up some static on the carpet to shock his adopted father, rather shocked himself as a hooded figures barged into his house, guns blazing, Crying over Cole's corpse.

And then…

There was a glow that quickly became blinding. The kid's body became a glowing spectral mass which fused into the corpse. The wounds vanished, the entire body was full of subtle changes. He seemed not only fully healed but also younger. Similar to the day he had seen that boy for the first time.

And with that, he was in the present, catapulting himself to the side as a chunk of steel flew towards him. The Hunter had attempted to strike Mercer with it, but had missed. And to make matters worse, that chunk missing was now allowing a torrent of water to get in.

Mercer leapt up, the armour gone to allow for a greater leap, and punctured the ceiling with a single claw, attaching himself while his other arm turned into a blade and he began slicing through like a can opener. The Hunter leapt up at him, claws outstretched. His trajectory was altered from an electric hammer that made the Hunter's head crash into the ceiling and the claws puncture through. However it's stunned body didn't have the reflexes to bend the claws as to prevent them exiting the hole and it plummeted back into the rapidly filling bottom of the boat.

Cole could withstand a little water, a puddle for instance was fine. But the water was rapidly rising and he was starting to feel an unpleasant sensation in his legs. Luckily Mercer finished making the hole quickly. Getting out, he launched his whipfist to grab hold of Cole and get him out. Then he waited for the Hunter, armour activated and blade at ready.

Unfortunately, the Hunter crashed through the hole and rugby tackled Mercer, ignoring the fact that the blade had very nearly sliced his forearm clean off and left his hand dangling next to his shoulder.

But it still had it's other hand, which now held Mercer with all it's might, you could hear crackling noises as fractures began appearing on Mercer's armour.

A burst of electricity did nothing this time, and the Hunter merely used Mercer as a melee weapon and struck Cole who skimmed dangerously close to the edge of the boat.

The clawed hand of the Hunter had now healed up. And it charged forward.

Cole gathered all the energy he could muster, and a bolt of lighting came from the sky right on the hunter, it game a strange gurgling noise, but the electricity also found it's way through the cracks of the armour into Mercer, a loud sizzling noise could be heard.

Stopping, Cole charged his right arm into a blade of electricity, charging forward and leaping through the air as he sliced the stunned hunter's head off, followed by charging his other arm as he landed and slicing the creature's arm off, freeing Mercer.

But it wasn't over yet. Another head quickly started forming to replace the old one, but even as its arm began to regenerate Cole gave it no leeway. Charging his arms with the electric blades for slice after slice after slice.

Mercer grimaced as he looked down and noted the ship was still taking in water. They didn't have much time, and most likely had no way off the boat.

Cole, having realized that the creature was probably going to keep regenerating even after he had been bled of every watt, yelled out 'Any ideas, Mercer?'

Actually, he did. Damaged though he was, Mercer shifted to musclemass and, as the creature was regenerating, hurled it into the ocean.

Cole looked at the massive splash made by the creature as it sank like a rock and asked 'Is that actually going to stop it?'

'Well, it can't swim. Not too sure if it can drown though.' Mercer looked around at the ever closer water. 'Do you have any ideas how to get off this boat?'

Dry land was visible, but a mere speck in the distance. The boat had stopped moving due to the water intake and possibly the engine had been damaged. And somehow Mercer doubted that Wade had been kind enough to leave life rafts or anything of the sort.

In other words, they seemed to be screwed.

'…Well, I guess we could try to build a raft.' Cole suggested weakly.

'Don't think either of us have the… finesse to make one with the available material…'

Cole sat down, contemplating what they had. A boat with nothing of use on it, and themselves.

Damn, after all they had done! He had to think of something.

Cole froze. _'All we have done?'_

'I hope you've recovered your strength, Mercer.' Cole said grimly. 'Because this might strain it a bit…'

* * *

A nightmarish scene.

Armoured Blackwatch bodies littered the area, fragments of metal from broken guns and other sources were scattered everywhere like it was shattered from a window. Blood seemed to bathe the entire area.

And Wade looked at the sight not with fear, or even disgust. He looked at it with fury.

How had this happened?

The virus they were suppose to be guarding was gone, the guards were dead and the tanks were gone, apart from one which seemed to have been crumpled up into looking like a paper ball.

It was… inconceivable. Had he not gotten rid of the nuisances?

But he found something. Among his soldier's corpses there were some that were definitely from the attackers. Although very few he noted.

This was strange because that the opposition wore trash bag capes, cobbled together junk for armour, and rather outdated weaponry.

That could only mean that there had been more powerful enemies among them that were not killed.

He quickly got his phone out.

'I want a team here stat.' it was natural for Blackwatch to trace any call made to them, so there was no point saying where. 'I also want a team to confirm that the abomination and Pariah are dead, but keep your distance from the boat! Last thing I need is you giving them an escape option.

He paused. 'What do you mean you've already done this!' He thundered. 'On whose orders!?'

A pause, the colour drained from Wade's face. All that fury replaced by an equal amount of fear. 'Well, I'm happy he has decided to get personally involved with this experiment. So then… How are those imperfect specimens doing…'

* * *

'He called them "Imperfect Specimens"?' The Blackwatch soldier shook his head in disbelief. There was no way to tell him apart from another soldier. The outfit covered everything and whatever his voice came out of in the suit made it sound basically the same no matter who talked.

'Well, you have to give those things credit for ingenuity.' The other Blackwatch soldier's eyes never left the sight in the distance.

Mercer would shoot out his whipfist and grab hold of the other side of the boat. Meanwhile Cole would jump off the boat holding on to Mercer and use his electricity abilities to hover while Mercer would pull with all his might, slowly dragging the boat towards land. Then when Cole began to feel water brushing his toes he would shout and Mercer would quickly retract his fist back to the boat, taking them with it to repeat the cycle.

The Blackwatch soldiers should probably try to stop them. But there was little they could do, apart from shoot from a distance and hope for a lucky shot. Although it would probably take quite a few lucky shots to do any real damage to those… things.

'We should probably return to base…'

* * *

**_Well, here is another chapter!_**

**_The third-last chapter as well. Only two more after this! Although there is a possible sequel._**

**_Hope you enjoyed it, if there is a way that may make you enjoy it more, you can ask. Not sure if it will be a yes, but hey, if it's a way to improve a section, why not?_**


	7. Plans Executed by Guillotine

Battered, beaten, exhausted, but alive.

The ship had nearly reached the shore before it hit the seabed, and Mercer held onto Mercer and with a leap managed to reach the beach. The hit the ground with a thud and collapsed into the warm sand.

They just remained there for about a minute before shakily getting up.

'We better hurry and stop them from unleashing the Virus.' Mercer grunted. In his mind two thoughts ran rampant. Gentek had to be stopped. And he really should see if he could make all his muscles cardiac.

Cole just nodded.

They dragged themselves up the beack before realizing they really had no idea where to go.

'Can you sense the virus like you did before?'

'A faint trace, enough of a trail to get us to it.'

'Well, we best get moving.'

* * *

His phone rang.

Seriously? Did he need to be checked on every minute?' Wade was getting irritated. Everything had gone wrong, and his phone would not stop ringing with one problem after another. He shouted 'What is it!' Right into the phone.

'I do believe you lost something.'

The voice was unfamiliar, and Wade's blood ran cold. 'Who is this?'

'The man who has your lost property. But I suppose you want my name so you can look it up, yes? My name is Alden Tate.'

Probably a lie, but Wade figured he would get some people to look it up anyway.

'One of your men was kind enough to tell me your number to negotiate his release. But don't worry, I took care of him for you. But I must say, what I have here is interesting…'

'What is it you want?' Wade impatiently asked, trying to skip the threats.

'I don't know yet. What you've lost is interesting, but I'm not quite sure what I want to do with it yet. I'll keep in touch, hopefully we shall meet. Try to stay alive, would you?'

The phone went dead, almost immediately after a Blackwatch soldier approached him.

'The commander wants you for debriefing.'

Wade sighed. 'Of course, lead the way.'

The soldier turned, and Wade acted, drawing his pistol and firing. Two shots into the skull, followed by a third into the heart, Just to be safe.

The soldier collapsed. Most likely dead, but you could never be sure with Blackwatch individuals.

'Yeah, I know how the debriefings work.' Wade said coolly. 'I think I'll take my chances with leaving.'

He bolted, not waiting to see if the bullets had, in fact, worked.

* * *

'It's… gone.'

Cole had run out of being terrified for the day, and as such didn't care much for the blood and bodies that littered the area. What he did care about was Mercer suddenly losing the trail.

'How can it be gone?'

'I don't know.' Mercer replied flatly. 'I don't recall it happening before. Something seems off around here, screwing with my senses.

Come to think of it, Cole felt… heavier then usual. It wasn't major, but it was there.

'There seems to be some sort of…' He hesitated even as he said the words, and phrased it more as a question then anything. 'Magnetic field?'

It was odd, magnetic fields weren't known to stick around after the source was gone, and yet he couldn't determine any source of it. Also, it did seem to be weakening, albeit much slower then it was suppose to.

There was something familiar about the feeling. His mind began to race. A massive behemoth made of trash…

'Alden.' Cole murmured.

Mercer didn't notice, he was too busy searching in vain for a trail.

'Don't bother.' Cole said in a deadpan voice. 'The guy we're looking for wouldn't leave a trace. He's good at hiding.'

'You know what happened then?'

A powerful guy, somewhat similar to me, killed these guys and took the virus I'd be guessing.'

'Would he be planning to use it himself?'

'I… don't know.' Cole hesitated. 'I'm not sure he would have the knowledge to use it correctly, although that isn't exactly comforting.'

Mercer growled. 'It could take months to find it! And in the meantime Blackwatch could be doing whatever the hell they want.'

'I have a suggestion.' Cole murmured as he checked one of the dead Blackwatch soldiers. 'You go find Blackwatch; I'll keep an eye on here.'

There was an awkward pause, and in that it occurred to them that not long ago they had been fighting each other.

'It's where we both belong.' Cole reasoned. He was trying to convince himself more then anything.

Mercer looked at Cole, a hint of a smile on his face. 'You sure you trust me to go out in the open world to find them? Can you have that in your conscience?'

The memory of all those dead Blackwatch came to mind. But so did other things, the civilian corpses definitely, but mostly it was Kessler that invaded his thoughts.

'I understand that sometimes it's the way it has to be.' Cole said firmly.

'Quite often, I find.'

Cole said nothing, he merely stuck his hand out. It took a few moments for Mercer to realize what it was for, and a few more to actually grab hold. They shook hands.

'Well, hopefully we won't have to see each other again. The best of luck to you.' Cole smiled as he let out a small jolt of electricity before letting go.

Mercer grimaced, but replied with a 'you as well.' Before turning around and bolting off at amazing speed. Off to find what was left of Blackwatch, especially Wade.

But first, of course, there was one stop he had to make…


End file.
